RIDGE AT BACK BROOK, THE

This Stephen Kay design carves through rolling New Jersey farmland with enough elevation change to make club selection a constant puzzle. The par-3 12th plays dramatically downhill over a stone-lined creek, while the finishing stretch demands precision iron play into greens protected by deep bunkers and native fescue. You'll walk off the 18th green wondering why more public tracks don't embrace this kind of thoughtful routing through natural terrain.